Disclaimer:I don’t own ‘em, wish I did, just enjoy
writing about ‘em for free etc

Pairings:1x2

Category:Romance, humour

Warnings:Yaoi, lime

Spoilers:None

Notes:A week is a long time, in Wars of the Heart!It seems that even Desire has to be planned
for; fought for; and won!Sometimes
against ridiculous odds…

Feedback:If you liked it, PLEASE let me know!

Sunday

The safe
house was quiet; the pilots were currently between missions.They each had to find their own amusement –
that was usually the case.

Wasn’t it?

“You going
out tonight, Wufei?” asked Duo, eyes wide with unusual innocence.The Chinese man turned the page of the car
magazine that he was reading, and grunted something.“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’, shall I?”

“Why are
you asking, Duo?”

Duo leant
forward in the chair beside him. “What’s it like, then, going out with Sally?”

Behind the
magazine, Wufei raised an eyebrow in surprise.“What’s it to you?”

Duo
snorted.“So have a nice day yourself!”

Wufei
sighed, and put the magazine down.His
concentration had already been lost, the minute the other young man had entered
the room.There’d been a succession of
coughs, and drumming fingers, and then the wide violet eyes, appearing over the
top of the new advert for the Aston Martin Vanquish.Wufei’s mood of quiet, contemplative ecstasy
had, indeed, been vanquished.“OK, sorry,
I didn’t mean to be rude.But I somehow
thought you –“

“What?”

“Never mind,”
said Wufei, hurriedly.

“So – how
did you two get together?What drew you
to her?How did you actually move from friendship to intimacy?”

“Duo!”
protested Wufei.“We just did!I can’t remember exactly what happened –“Actually, he remembered very well, and the
very words he spoke; something about her calm professionalism as a soldier, and
her firm decision-making.Then there had
been Sally’s enchanting blush in response, and the exact feel of Sally’s waist
underneath his hands, as his fingers slid gently under her blouse – but he
wasn’t telling Duo all those private details!

“Just
thought…” started Duo, slowly.Wufei
felt a familiar nausea rising in the back of his throat; Duo’s thoughts rarely
meant anything but trouble.“Just
thought a man of the world like yourself would be able to clear up some issues
for me.I mean, you’re very intelligent,
a fine martial artist, and damned handsome as well – we all look up to you in
many ways –“

Wufei’s
face was a picture of pure astonishment.“What the hell are you going on about, Duo? I’ve never heard you
compliment me like that!Well, I guess
you’ve been known to tell me I’m the most awkward, intractable, perfectionist
kind of guy – but that’s a little different.”He peered at Duo, perhaps wondering if he had some new, spot-less
disease.“I don’t have any money to lend
you, y’know.”

“I know
that!”Duo flushed.He sat back, and he seemed to be struggling
with his words.“It’s not you, so much
as – I mean, I just wanted to practice –“

“Practice?
What?Borrowing money?”

“For God’s
sake, enough already with the borrowing money!” growled Duo.“Perhaps I did in the past, a couple times,
that’s all!And I always paid it
back!Dammit, Heero got fixated on the
same thing, when I had this same conversation with him –“

“You did?”
asked Wufei, eyebrow raised questioningly this time.

Duo nodded,
then flushed.“I just said a few similar
things; just pointed out what I admire about him…”

“And he
said?”

“He said he
didn’t understand why I should compliment him, when we were perfectly aware of
each other’s characteristics, good or otherwise; he said that talking about physical
relationships wasn’t a priority.Then he
said he’d lend me enough money to get me through to next payday,” said Duo, a
little sadly.

“Well he’s
as much a fool as you are, isn’t he?” Wufei’s smile was broad.“Despite his pragmatic response, he makes too
many allowances for you already.But
that’s to be expected, isn’t it?”

“What does that mean?” snapped Duo.

Wufei
raised the eyebrow again, demonstrating a fine cynicism this time.“If you don’t know, I’m not the one to tell
you.”

“But it’s
not about the money, y’see…” said Duo, plaintively. “He didn’t understand…”

“Whatever,”
replied Wufei, tiring of the distraction.“Now if you feel the need for a lesson in tae kwon do, I’m your
man.But if it’s just more fatuous
questions about dating girls –“He
lifted the magazine in emphasis, hiding his head behind it.

“I’m asking,
just in principle, y’know,” said Duo, disgruntled.

“Sure,”
murmured Wufei.He’d already switched
off the conversation.

Monday

Trowa was
bent over the circuit board, a stretch of thin wire held between his teeth, and
the soldering iron balanced precariously against a miniscule connection.

Duo’s head
appeared in his view like a natural disaster. Sudden, and completely consuming.

Trowa’s movements
were very deliberate, as he laid down the spoiled solder, and his struggle for
control was very laudable.

“Hi
Trowa!You busy?”

Trowa
ignored the – obviously – rhetorical question.

“What’s it
like, Trow, having Quatre as a boyfriend?”

Trowa
struggled again – as he so often did with Duo’s conversation - to understand
the context of the question.It eluded
him; he decided caution was the best policy.“Well – you know –“

“I know
what?”Duo looked genuinely
interested.“Why should I know anything
about going out with a boy?”

Trowa
stared at him, bemused.“I just thought
that you –“

“What?”

“Never
mind,” said Trowa, gently.

“So – how
did you two get together?What drew you
to him?How did you actually move from friendship to intimacy?”

Trowa
frowned.He put down the delicate tools
with exaggerated care.“I can’t remember
the exact moment, Duo.We just found
that we were attracted to each other.” Very much, he thought, and hoped that he
wasn’t blushing.He remembered, very clearly,the way that Quatre had sat beside him
for many long evenings, until his enjoyment of the man’s companionship had
grown to a more tantalising awareness of his physical presence.Quatre and he had shared the development and
implementation of many complex electronic projects, until their professional
partnership had shifted on to a personal basis.He thought of the slim, strong boy who now slept so soundly in his bed most
nights; he knew exactly the first
night that had happened.And he knew he was blushing, now!But he wasn’t going to share all that with Duo!

“I’m
fascinated by the work that you’ve done to enhance the reception area of the
radio network,” said Duo.He licked lips
that were a little dry.“The speed of
the connections; the robust performance of the long distance signal. Can I watch you working on it?Will you talk me through it?”

“Jeez…”
said Trowa.“Why are you staring at me
like that, Duo?It unnerves me.”

“Just fascinated
by you and your skills, Trowa.”

Trowa felt
a nausea, similar to Wufei’s, rising in his own throat.“I think I’d rather you weren’t, Duo,” he
said, still careful.One never knew quite
how Duo’s mind was working.“It’s not really
your subject, is it?I’m not sure why
you should suddenly find it - or me, for that matter - so fascinating.I know that you find me rather introspective,
sometimes, though it doesn’t bother me.Is this about borrowing money again?”

“Christ,” wailed Duo.“Why does everyone assume that’s all I want?Heero said the same, when I talked to him
about his work on the advanced hydraulics…”

Trowa
laughed.“It’s because you never make
your money last.And what else did Heero
say?”

Duo’s face
looked rather flushed again.“He said that
my approach to the relevant engineering skills was over-enthusiastic; and that the
question of physical relationships had no specific bearing on the mission
parameters.He said that my staring
unnerved him.Then he said he’d get the
money to me tomorrow, as I obviously needed it sooner rather than later.“

Trowa
smiled.“Sounds like him.Heero is always objective at mission time,
but his personal response to your natural enthusiasm will, of course, be very
different –“

“What does that mean?” snapped Duo.

Trowa grimaced.“Let me get on with this, Duo, OK?If you’ve got questions about radio
communications, I can answer them another time.But if it’s questions about intimacy with boys, it all depends whether
you find boys attractive, rather than girls.And vice versa.”

“I’m just
asking in principle, y’know!“ protested Duo.“But Heero thought it was about the money, again…”

“Sure,”
replied Trowa.“Whatever.”He bent his head back over his work.

Tuesday

There was a
God-awful yell from up the corridor, and the sound of running feet.Trowa and Wufei had been relaxing in the
lounge - they looked up at each other over the chess board, startled by the
noise.

“What the
hell -?”

Quatre came
thundering into the lounge, naked except for a towel draped round his waist,
the water from his shower still dripping from his hair and torso.

Duo
followed him – hands held out in appeasement.He was dressed the same as Quatre, though he was still dry – his towel
was also a little less well fastened.

Heero was
also in the lounge, reading, in a chair by the TV.He stood up, abruptly.

Duo
suddenly seemed to realize that the other three were in the room, watching and
listening with open mouths.He turned to
meet their shocked expressions; he groaned aloud.

“Look –
guys – this looks worse than it is, right?Trow – I never touched him –!“

“Like - in
your dreams!” hissed Quatre.“You make
me feel nauseous – you’re lucky I’m not gonna throw up.And I bet
this is just some new scheme to blackmail money out of me!“

Duo cursed
at yet another reference to money; he shook his head, helplessly.

“Just stay
outta my shower,” said Quatre, turning on his heel to return to the bathroom. It was difficult to muster one’s dignity with one’s
hair dripping over one’s forehead, but he felt that he achieved it, regardless.“You
want feedback on your ass, you ask the person who’s interested!”

“What does that mean?” Duo snapped back, but Quatre
had left the room.

Trowa and
Wufei looked at each other again, bemused.

Then Heero
surprised them all, stepping forward, and staring at Duo.“What the hell were you doing?Why should you need to practice showing your
body off?”

Behind him,
Wufei rolled his eyes up into his head.Trowa hid a smile behind his hand.

Duo
couldn’t form a response; he was too embarrassed.He just stared back at Heero; at the
chocolate brown hair, impatiently pushed back off a wide forehead; at the
confusion in wide, dark eyes.At the
long, strong, wiry limbs; at the tight muscle definition of his torso, hinted
at beneath the flimsy vest…

Heero was also
staring back; but his eyes had dropped a little lower than Duo’s face.A pale pink flush was slowly rising, high up
on his cheeks.The book he’d been reading
dropped to the floor, from a suddenly nerveless hand.

Duo followed
Heero’s eyes, looking down at himself.He realised that his towel was no longer secure.Things had stirred rather impressively in his
groin area; the soft white toweling had been nudged gently to the side, by a
gradual swelling of his private parts.The
knot at his waist was unraveling; the cloth was slipping, irretrievably, down
his legs. There was definitely rather more of Duo on display than he might have
wanted to show – in public, that is.

With a
mournful wail, he snatched the towel up in front of him, then turned and ran
back out of the room.His buttocks wobbled
a little with his haste; everyone watched his rapid escape up the corridor.

Heero stood
as if petrified.He was totally unaware
of the other two in the room.

“Well!” murmured Wufei, under his
breath.“Whatever Quatre might have
thought of Olympian athletes, I’d have given that body 9.75!”He was straight, OK, but he could appreciate
the male form as well as the next man, couldn’t he?

The
apartment had calmed down after the shower incident.Wufei and Trowa had returned to their chess
game.Heero had gone rather quickly to
his room; Duo had dressed and left the building, nursing his humiliation
somewhere else.

The players
paused, and looked at each other.Without needing to elaborate, they spoke about the same subject – Duo.

“What’s he
on about, d’you think?He’s been asking
strange questions – acting weirdly.It’s
been going on for days now.”

“I don’t
know…”

Quatre came
back into the room, dressed now and glowing a little from his shower.He gazed over at Trowa and winked.“A little more foreplay than we usually get, hey?”

“As if we
need it…” smiled Trowa, in reply, his eyes devouring the slender body in front
of him.

“Cut the loose
talk, or go to your room!” growled Wufei.“We need to find out what’s wrong with Duo.”

“Look at
his laptop screen,” smiled Quatre.“I
just happened to see it, as I passed
his room.It’s rather revealing!”

“That’s invading
his privacy –“ protested Trowa.

“Disgracefully
unethical –“ snapped Wufei.

Two minutes
later, they were in Duo’s room, clustered round the laptop that he’d been in
too much of a rush to close down.

“It’s one
of those ‘How To…’ lists that you get popping-up on MSN Mail,” said Trowa.

“Seven Strategies
to Rampant Ravishment,” Wufei read from the bright screen.“Tired of waiting for that Best Friend to
become your Best Squeeze?Treat it like
a Military Campaign – develop your Successful Strategies, direct them at the
Target of your Lust, and then Relax and Savour the Spoils of Victory –!“

Trowa was
laughing.Quatre’s eyes shone with
mischief.

“Recognise
the first three, guys?”He leaned over
Trowa’s shoulder, and read aloud.“Strategy
One; use Flattery.Everyone responds to
personal attention!Tell your Target
what you admire about them; what delights you about them.”

Wufei nodded.“I suffered that one,” he admitted.Practising,
Duo had said!

“Strategy Two:
be Smart, be Fascinated!No-one can
resist a well-informed and deeply-interested fascination in their favourite
subject.Spend time with your Target; share their
Trials at every step of the way; then be there, when they celebrate the
Thrills!”

Trowa
flushed gently; Quatre squeezed at his ass.They had delicious memories of their own Trials and Thrills...

“Strategy Three,”
read Wufei, impatient to solve the mystery.“Dare to Bare!Let your Target see
you as the Sensual Being that you are!Release the Hot Bod that slumbers inside you; let Mother Nature’s more
Wicked Cousins work on your behalf, and Awaken the Lust inside your Target!”

“Well, that’s obvious,” said Trowa.“Heero, of course.He’s mad about him.You need to ask?”

“He’s never
actually admitted it,” said Wufei.“Just
keeps hinting round it.Pretends it’s a
big secret from us all.We all assumed
they’d got it together by now…”

“But it
looks like they haven’t!” Quatre butted in.“So Duo is frustrated – and growing increasingly erratic.Heero is just as bad!We all know he’s got the hots for Duo – but
he appears determined to ignore the signs.In fact, he’s been giving Duo the cold shoulder all week.So, from the way that Duo’s been behaving –“

They all
nodded.Trowa remembered Heero’s red
face, as Duo’s towel had started slipping to the floor; Wufei remembered the
dark-haired boy’s wide, shocked, excited
eyes.Quatre smirked even more; when
Heero had rushed off to his room, he’d barged past Quatre, outside the bathroom.Quatre knew that he’d been the one to notice the rather satisfying bulge in the
front of Heero’s pants.

And they
all remembered Duo’s reaction!

“They have
been pathetic strategies,” grunted Wufei.“A scatter gun approach – never very successful.The boy needs support, from those who
understand a battle campaign.”

“So what
are the remaining strategies?” asked Trowa, peering at the screen.“Will he be initiating them, as well?”

Quatre
thought about what might drive a young man to humiliate himself in front of his
flat mates, barely dressed in a towel, and flaunting his family jewels – he
considered the strength of that frustrated desire.“Of course he will!”

Wufei
thought about what further embarrassment Duo might suffer, and he winced.“Then we must smooth the way for him – we
must send in the cavalry, and breach the defences!”

Wednesday

Strategy
Four: “Start a conversation!Ask a
question, state an opinion, make a joke!Engage your Target with Witty Repartee, while you have the chance!”

Duo came
into the kitchen, whistling softly – Heero was immediately conscious of
him.He always was.The air would shiver whenever the braided boy
walked in; the smell of the sun on his skin would follow him across the room;
the breeze from his swinging hair would raise the goose bumps on the back of Heero’s
neck.

Heero’s
heart sank a little.He pulled his seat
a little more closely into the breakfast table.

Duo flopped
into a seat beside him.“So – what’s
new, Heero?What do you have planned for
today?What do you think of that new
anime film?I’m not sure about the
artwork being up to standard for a full-length feature, myself.Have you heard the one about the Doctor and
the Tea Cup?What do you think the
Government will do about that new offensive in the Middle
East?”

Heero
stared.He wasn’t quite sure if he was
expected to answer – and, if he was, where he was meant to start.

Duo beamed
a huge smile at him.“Trow said you were
looking for some conversation – that you’d appreciate some company.I’ve got hours before I’m due to go out!”

Hiding behind
the kitchen door, Trowa gave a silent thumbs up.

Heero’s
voice was very loud, and very clear in its reply.“I was hoping for some peace, Duo – some time
for contemplation.I don’t like to be
disturbed just before a mission.I would
have thought both you and Trowa knew that.”

There was
deathly silence from Duo – a momentous event in itself.Trowa grimaced.

“Duo?Is there a problem -?” Heero’s voice sounded
a little less certain; even a little apologetic.

“Forget it!”
came Duo’s response, crackling with temper.

Trowa
pressed himself back up against the wall, in the hope he could blend into the
plaster.He covered his ears with his
hands, and bit his lip.Jeez, he thought.That’s
the cavalry defeated - this campaign may be harder than we thought!

Thursday

Strategy
Six:“Be Mysterious!Hold some Personal Information back – make
your Target Lust for More of You!No-one
can Resist a Challenge!Yet make the
Journey all the More Tantalising!”

Duo swung
lazily through the lounge, snatching up his jacket.Heero was sitting alone, marking up some
ordnance survey maps.

“Are you
off out, Duo?”

Duo didn’t
answer for a couple of beats.When he
did, his voice was low, and almost sultry.“Maybe.”

“Where to?”

Duo leaned
on the back of the couch, and gave a careless, head-tossing laugh.“That’s for me to know, Heero, and you to
find out!”

Heero
stared at him, brow furrowing a little.“I would have thought that it’s obvious you know where you’re going, else
you’d be very foolish to set off in the first place.But as for me having to find out –“

“Intrigued,
Heero?”Duo half lowered his eyelids,
peering up at Heero through his lashes; just as Quatre had suggested.

“No,” said
Heero, coolly.“Annoyed.We’d agreed that none of us would go anywhere
without alerting the others, for security purposes.”

“You could
follow me secretly, and find out…” wheedled Duo.

“It’s
unlikely to be secret then, is it?” said, Heero, reasonably.

Duo
stared.His hand tightened on the cloth
of his coat.“I’m crap at this, aren’t I?“

“At what?”

“Forget it!”
snapped Duo.

Pinned out
of sight against the corridor wall, outside the lounge, Quatre groaned
silently.He pressed his hands over his
mouth, to stop the comments spilling out. Perfect
opening, he thought.And just as perfectly lost! That’s the
infantry wiped out as well.The pair of
them are beyond help!

Friday

Strategy
Five:“Make use of Props!These are Natural Conversation Starters! Wear something Unusual; be Striking!Be ready to accept the Target’s Admiration
and Amazement at your Individuality!”

Duo walked
in from the hallway with the hat perched on the top of his head. Heero glanced up, wondering where all the
others had gone, then looked back down to his latest report.

His head
snapped back up again, sharply.

“Duo? What
the hell have you got on your head?”

Duo smiled
over at him, hands on his hips. “You noticed, then!Like it, Heero?”It was a tall, striped hat, in the colours of
the Jamaican flag.It settled snugly on
his ears, rearing up above his head like a large, bulbous growth; Heero
couldn’t see any sign of his usual braid down his back.

“No!” said
Heero, more sharply.The week had been
an increasingly awkward trial for him.“What have you done with your hair?”

Duo’s eyes
showed a mixture of emotions.Delight at
Heero’s concern; a touch of worry at how his reply would be received.He reached up, and pulled the hat off.His hair fell down on to his shoulders, as
long and rich as usual; though not so
expected, was its style.

“Dreadlocks?”

“Cool, eh?”
grinned Duo.He pushed one of the long,
twisted strands back over his shoulder.His
face was framed with impressive layers of long, thick, tangled curls.“It’s good to have a change, sometimes, isn’t
it?”

Heero
stared.His mouth opened briefly; he
lifted a finger, to point at the curls.

“Uhh…” Duo
bit his lip.“It’s not permanent, or
anything, Heero.It’s just for fun,
y’know.”

Hidden
behind the lounge door, listening carefully with his ear pinned to the crack of
the hinges, Wufei groaned.Was he going
to have to go in and break up a fight?Didn’t Duo remember his battle instructions -?

“So if it
offends, you so much, Heero –“ said Duo, a little testily.“Come and help me wash it out!”

“Huh?” said
Heero.

“I’ll get
in the shower,” said Duo.His voice
reflected every shade of hope and flirtation.“You can come and help me wash my hair – and whatever else takes your
fancy –“

Outside the
room, Wufei clenched his fist in a potential victory sign.

Heero gave
a strangled gasp.Wufei leaned in to the
door hinges, peering between, desperate to see more.

“In the
shower?With you?”

“Yeah,”
said Duo.“You can notice me there,
instead.”

“Like the
other day –“ Heero’s words sounded very odd.Like they were squeezing out through his teeth.

“Yeah,”
repeated Duo.“Like the other day…”

There was a
sudden rush of footsteps, and Heero came out of the room at a run, nearly
knocking Wufei over in the corridor.

Wufei
pressed his hands over his eyes in a despairing gesture.Some throwback to childhood days, perhaps,
when you thought that if you couldn’t see anyone, they couldn’t see you.But Heero wasn’t looking, anyway; he barely
saw the Chinese man.His eyes looked
wide and wild, full of shock, and a fair helping of misery.

And then
he’d gone, into his room, the door slamming shut.

Wufei
breathed again.

Duo’s
parting words sounded more sad than angry, this time.“Forget it, Heero,” he muttered, now alone in
the lounge.“Forget it, OK?”

That’s it!thought Wufei, fiercely. His combative
spirit was up; his belligerence ignited. That’s
a complete decimation of the whole damned army! Time to mobilise the troops in
a whole new way!

*

The three
friends held an emergency council of war.

“Disaster all
round!” scorned Quatre.

“Never seen
two lovers so awkward to get together!” mourned Trowa.

“Nonsense!”
snapped Wufei.“It just calls for a
different strategy now!An invasion from
within – a new approach between aggressor and target!”

“A
collaboration?” asked Quatre, interested again, now.

“A
negotiation, rather!” said Trowa, nodding in approval.

“Leave it
to me, as your envoy!” preened Wufei.

The others
looked at each other, and shrugged acceptance.It had been a long week for them all, and a civil war in their own house
was wearing them down.

Saturday

Heero was
sat at the kitchen table, extrapolating mission statistics on the laptop, when
Wufei marched in.The Chinese man pulled
a chair up opposite him, and stared at him until he lifted his weary head.

“Yes,
Wufei?”

“For such a
bright young man, you can be so unaware – in so many respects!” began Wufei.

“What do
you mean?”

“I mean Duo
– and your relationship with him.”

“Duo?He’s my friend.A fellow pilot.A team mate –“

Wufei snorted.
“Don’t come the innocent with me!Don’t
you realise how obvious it is?I’m not
known for my intuition, but even I
can see you drooling whenever he passes by.It’s time to flush the truth out into the open, and admit you want
nothing more than to tumble your team mate all the way to Team Bed!”

Heero
stared at him.He was a little
flushed.He looked like he’d argue back,
but then his face relaxed a little.“Guess
it’s not obvious enough, though, eh?”

Wufei
laughed, a little confused.He saw the
bags under Heero’s eyes; the tight line of worry between his brows.“Have you seen this article?”He produced a printout from his pocket,
smoothing it out in front of Heero; stabbing his finger at it, to draw the
other man’s full attention.

“Seven Strategies
for Rampant Ravishment…” read Heero, slowly.His eyes remained on the paper, but his face reddened.

“Haven’t
you noticed his behaviour this week?” persisted Wufei.“You’ve been particularly obtuse, I feel –“

And then
Heero’s head snapped up, and his dark, angry eyes flashed a warning at
Wufei.“No, my friend, I’m afraid that
it’s you who are obtuse, though I
don’t mean to offend. This explains a
lot – this confirms my conclusion, that Duo has fallen for someone.I know the signs – I’m not the complete naïf
that you all think I am!He’s been
asking advice; he’s been practicing his skills of seduction on all of us.I would have thought that you’d all have
realized that, before now!It’s
preparing him for the one he wants…”

Heero
sighed.“I’m glad for him – if only
because it’s the perfect explanation for his erratic behaviour.He wants to share his pleasure with his
friends – he needs our support.We must
face facts – his approach has been nothing short of clumsy this week, eh?”Heero’s laugh was a little forced.“But it means I mustn’t nurse hopes for him
myself, now.”

Wufei’s
mouth was wide open.He tried to speak,
but at first he couldn’t.Heero wondered
if he were ill.

“What the
hell -?” Wufei eventually spluttered.“How
can you get it all so right – and yet so spectacularly wrong?”

*

A half hour
later, Wufei and Heero sat at the table.Wufei had spoken for quite a while; Heero had his head in his hands.

“I’ve been
blind,” said Heero.“Worse– I’ve been rude!I’ve just been trying
to keep him at bay – I’ve been trying to keep out of his way, when I knew I
couldn’t offer him any objective advice on attracting someone else. When I was just trying to be helpful to
him!And now it’s gone too far – he’s
given up on me –“

“Enough!”
announced Wufei.This self-pity was
uncharacteristic, and – more to the point – wasn’t helping to restore the
harmony in the house.“I think that
unlikely.He was in the bathroom last
night until 3am, combing out the dreadlocks.And ranting on about the miseries of his life.We just need to plan the next move, most
carefully.”

Instinctively,
they looked back down at the printout on the table.

“So which
one is left, then, Heero?” said Wufei, slyly.

“What are
you suggesting?”

“You’re the
soldier,” shrugged Wufei.“You’re as
good a strategist as I.You want to win
a war – you know the stratagem.”

“Target the
general,” said Heero.“That’s the way to
win…”

“Go to the
top!” grinned Wufei.“Play him at his
own game.Do whatever’s necessary to win!”He shifted the paper round so that Heero
could read it for himself.“Read
Strategy Seven, Heero; read the last one!”

*

Another
half hour later, Heero walked alone into the kitchen, to find Duo standing by
the fridge, mixing a chocolate milkshake.He’d already taken a slurp of it – Heero could see the dark, wet drops
on his lips.He cleared a throat that
had become uncomfortably tight.

“Duo – I
must talk to you!”

Duo looked
round, wondering where the other guys had gone.Wondering at that glint of light at the door hinges, as if eyes were
peering through.He looked back at
Heero, almost like a rabbit facing the reflection of its doom, in the eyes of an
approaching snake.

He was
tired of this game, already!Didn’t they
all know it?He didn’t need any further
humiliation!

Heero’s
face was set in a most deliberate expression.Duo awaited the worst.Then his
friend’s mouth opened, and rather than the usual diatribe, the most astonishing
words came out instead!

“You wanted
to talk about relationships, Duo – what I thought of boys versus girls.How I thought a friendship might be
progressed on to a more intimate footing.
What I thought about your – “ he
flushed.“Your physical attributes!”

Duo stared,
the glass of milkshake halted on its way back up to his mouth.Well, yeah, he had, but that was before -!

“I think
that gender is unimportant, so long as you like the person,” Heero rushed
on.“I think that you should follow your
instincts, when you feel an attraction beyond friendship.I think –“ another flush.“I think you have a very – appealing body.”

“Appealing?”
said Duo, faintly.“To you?”

Heero
nodded.“To me.”And then he grinned at Duo.

Duo almost
rocked back on his heels.“Christ, was
that a smile, Yuy?Or has your breakfast
caused indigestion?I told Trow some of
those eggs looked iffy –“

“Hush!”
growled Wufei.“This is a vulnerable
stage of the negotiations –“

“It’s the
final strategy, Quatre,” Trowa explained.“Strategy Seven – Smile!Show your
Pearly Whites!Show the Target that they
please you – that they give you enjoyment.That you’re Interested in them!It’s
the Best and Most Effective Message that you can give them.It lights up your face and draws people to
you –“

“Or not, as
the case may be,” grumbled Quatre.

Wufei
jabbed him in the ribs, to shut him up.

*

Heero and
Duo were now only inches apart.They
seemed fascinated with each other’s mouths – with their eyes – with the shape
of each other’s body.Especially in the
groin area.

“Follow
your instincts, eh?” murmured Duo.

Heero’s
smile never faltered.

“And you
think I’m fit?That I look – appealing?”

Heero’s eyes
flickered up and down the other boy’s body, and he nodded, enthusiastically.

“Even with
dreadlocks?” said Duo, warily.

Heero
nodded, eyes locked on the shimmering pulse of Duo’s throat.

“Dancing
about in the bathroom like a fool, with just a towel -?”

Heero
licked his lips.“Preferably without,”
he said, his voice a little higher than usual.“Could you – are you interested in me, in the same way?”

Duo’s eyes
flashed brightly, but his reply was slow.“Maybe…”

Heero shook
his head, impatiently.He took another
step towards him.“No, you exhausted that
strategy earlier –“

“Huh?” said
Duo, startled.

“The ‘be
mysterious’ strategy.”

“You liked
that one?” asked Duo, a little mystified.Heero’s hand had stretched out, and was nestling at his waist.It felt extremely good, stroking him there.